Twitter Introduces eCommerce Into Its Social Platform

Twitter and eCommerce – A Match Made In Heaven?

This fall, Twitter introduced eCommerce into its social platform with the addition of a Buy button, which comes at the heels of Facebook’s Buy button. With this addition, retailers could add this button to their tweets, thus reaching their customers in one of the most actively used social media platforms on the planet. In fact, the button first surfaced in June, with a promo for online shopping site Fancy. In September, the official announcement of this eCommerce addition stated that only certain retailers would be invited into the test run, including The Home Depot and Burberry, Ltd.

With that limited retailer list also came a limited number of users who’d actually see those tweets, although Twitter has stated the number of users who’d see those tweets would likely grow over time.

Why Does Twitter And eCommerce Make Good Sense?

Twitter has proven itself to be the go-to platform for real-time information. In other words, it’s the “act now” social media site. This added Buy button encourages shoppers to act on a whim without having to leave the social network. This makes shopping from mobile even easier than ever, while not forcing users to change the way they interact with Twitter.

What Can An Online Retailer Do To Benefit From This Twitter Buy Button?

Twitter is all about being in the moment. eCommerce merchants need to follow that approach by offering sales with short lifespans or that offer a limited number of items. By doing so, they’re instilling that sense of urgency and now which is the mindset most Twitter users are in when they’re scrolling the latest tweets in their feed.

How Does The Twitter eCommerce World Work?

The whole point of introducing eCommerce into Twitter is to make it simple and easy for users to make a conversion. While the social media giant is working with Stripe to process payments, they also mentioned opening up the beta testing to Gumroad, Fancy and Musictoday.

Regardless of the payment method, Twitter is on record as stating that they’re wholly committed to keeping shoppers’ payment card information secure but convenient, and that they’ll encrypt shoppers’ payment and shipping information, while storing that information so that users won’t have to reenter the same data after each purchase.

No word yet about if Apple Pay will jump into the game.

How will Twitter get paid?

Obviously the main reason Twitter has introduced this Buy button is to increase revenue, but admittedly they’re not sure how that revenue will arrive. This round of beta testing includes several models including:

Charging a commission for sales generated

Requiring merchants to pay to promote tweets that include the Buy button

It’s not entirely clear yet if Twitter plans on keeping these two options or if they’ll settle on one as their eCommerce model.

Eventually You’ll Be Able To Use Twitter In Your Online Marketing Strategy. Are You Ready?

While the beta testing is still limited to a number of big-gun retailers out there, there’s no doubt that all online retailers will eventually be able to access this Buy button feature. Are you ready?

Rather than wait until it arrives, you should begin to determine what type of short-lifespan promotions you could offer, so that when the time comes, you’ll be ready to pounce. OperationROI can help. We’ll look at your competitors, target market, and your business goals to determine the best way to use Twitter to increase conversions and revenue. Contact us today by calling 1-888-277-5429 or filling out our contact form to learn how we can help you make the most of eCommerce and Twitter.